Pod Filter - Removing Stock Air Box

[fletcjk]

Hello all I am new to the forum and this is my first post.  I picked up an '82 FT500 for $300.00 and I am slowly combing through it and replacing anything questionable.  I am going to change the jets and sprocket, but I'd also like to remove the stock airbag and replace it with a pod filter.  I can't find any information on doing that here on the forum so I thought I'd start a thread.  Has anyone done this?  What kind of results did you have?  What filter did you use?  There are plenty of small generic pod filters on Amazon pretty cheap, but I questioned myself due to the fact that nobody else had mentioned doing this.  Any help would be appreciated!!  Thanks!

[J6G1Z]

Welcome to the board.

I have a stock FT with the OEM head-pipes & a straight through glass-pack type of muffler. I removed the air box & used an oiled foam UNI filter. I had already performed the jetting swap like is described in the FT Ascot Essentials, but I still need to add more fuel. The engine breaks up a bit in the 3800-4200 RPM range if I recall correctly. You will also need a small breather filter for the crankcase breather. I used one of those small generic K&N type of filters with a mounting screw in the top. I mounted this filter from one of the original air-box mounts at the top left frame rail & then ran a hose from the crankcase breather port to the filter. I'll post a pic or two below of the crankcase breather.

When it comes to filters, I don't trust the K&N screen & gauze type of filters. They allow fine dust to pass through & sucked into the intake tract. I much prefer the oiled foam filters like the UNI.

You can easily run a pod type of filter, but you will need to adjust your jetting. If you remove your air-box, you might lose your battery mount & one of the side panel mounts. I can't remember for sure on that.

Good luck & please let us know what you find out.
J.

[scottly]

I made an adapter to fit a large K&N filter to the stock rubber boot. Like J mentioned, the stock air-box acts as part of the battery mount, so you will have to do some fabricating. I ended up using something like a 185 main jet. BTW, I removed the filter and boot after logging a few dusty miles and found no evidence of dust inside.
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=214.0

[scottly]

Here's a link to the dyno thread:
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=269.0

[fletcjk]

Thank you very much all.  I will report back once I make a decision.  I appreciate the pics info and links.  Very helpful!

[J6G1Z]

Take a look at the battery mount & decide how you want to address that issue, or leave the air-box on. The air-box rubber inlet snorkel can be removed to allow more breathing.

I ended up using an AntiGravity LI 12 cell battery that only weighs about 3 lbs. I found a pre-fab battery box on eBay much like this one for a 12 cell battery: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIGRAVITY-Chopper-Battery-Box-Tray-Motorcycle-Bobber-SMALLCASE-PREFAB-8-CELL-/221693999352?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item339dfdf8f8&vxp=mtr  It comes to you as a flat piece of steel that has been cut out. You need to fold up the sides & then weld up the corners & the threaded collars. I then had a welder mount the box to the rear upper motor mount cross bar so it sits just above & parallel to the swing arm pivot. This modification removed about 10+lbs of high mounted weight. The steel piece that runs across the top of the battery to retain the battery, I took & dipped in black Plasti-Dip to provide some insulation: http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

Mounting the battery securely will be the toughest part of removing the air-box, then jetting properly.

Good luck
J.

PS. Here is a link to how I did my FT: http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=79.msg307#msg307